


Sympathy for the Queen

by AlynnaStrong



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Cersei Sympathetic, F/M, Miscarriage, Season 8 Therapy, Series Resolution, Somewhat Dany sympathetic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 17:44:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19728622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlynnaStrong/pseuds/AlynnaStrong
Summary: Cersei Lannister is a complicated character.  She was ill-used toward the end of the series, so this is an attempt to flesh out her motivations and reasoning during seasons 7 and 8.





	Sympathy for the Queen

**Author's Note:**

> Though Cersei’s arc wasn’t the worst of seasons 7-8’s sins, I did find it a disappointing end to such a fascinating character. I wouldn’t call this a redemption fic, but I do try to give more context and reasoning to her actions. It won’t be exactly canon compliant; the idea is to end up in the basically the same place by a different path.

Cersei hadn’t expected to survive Tommen’s death. She’d known in her heart that it was coming, after first Joffrey then her precious Myrcella were murdered. The terrible prophecy from Maggy the Frog was coming true step by step. The end was supposed to be: “and when your tears have drowned you, the Valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” Surely she had lost all she held dear. Her grief could not possibly dig any deeper into her soul.

No Valonqar came for her, however. A word borrowed from High Valyrian, _Valonqar_ meant 'little brother' (or 'younger sibling' to be precise). Tyrion fit the role perfectly from the beginning, coming into the world by killing their mother. She’d never loved him, nor trusted him once she understood the meaning of the Valyrian. He killed Joffrey (she still believed, despite Olenna Tyrell's confession); he killed their father. So, though she watched for him in every corner – skulking little rat that he was – she saw it as inevitable that someday he would get close enough to her to carry out the prophecy.

Much to her shock, the sun continued to rise and set after Tommen died. The moon kept its course. The season changed from fall to winter. Still, she would have always feared the shadows had the miraculous not occurred: her moon’s blood stopped, then her breasts became sore. Before long, she realized she was pregnant with her fourth child.

She’d been pleased with the other pregnancies (all but the one she didn’t think about; the one that was Robert’s, thankfully Jaime found a woman to cleanse her). This one was pure euphoria. It was another chance to be a mother, this time without Robert’s damaging influence. An heir for her throne. A child that Jaime could openly love. They would be a perfect family.

More than that, though, she was finally out from under the prophecy. Maggy had been clear: three children for her; six and ten for the king. Yes, indeed. But she’d taken care of Robert’s bastards. And while she would mourn her other children until the end of her days, this child was her future. It proved the prophecy had been averted. She no longer had anything to fear from Tyrion and could concentrate on making her Kingdoms secure for the child's arrival.

The so-called Dragon Queen was a vexing problem. So far, Cersei and her counsel had been able to outmaneuver the Targaryen girl’s strategies. An alliance with Euron Greyjoy was distasteful, but he was stupid and easily manipulated. His fleet had certainly dismantled the Dornish with brutal efficiency, and his presentation of Ellaria Sand and her favorite daughter as tribute earned him a deal of personal favor.

Jaime would always be her true love, however. She cherished the cautious joy in his face as he contemplated being a true father to their child. He wanted to believe that they could rule openly as Queen and King and have children together in the tradition of the Targaryens. He seemed to harbor some doubts, but Cersei learned from their father that force of will accomplished more goals that grubbing for consensus.

The call for a summit at the Dragonpit left Cersei nervous and uncertain about its purpose. It was too early for any discussions about surrender, though the Lannister army had suffered a striking defeat to the dragons. Worse, Jaime said that even without the fire-breathing beasts, the Targaryen girl’s mounted savages were slicing through their lines with fierce and unpredictable tactics. The Crown still had gold and numbers on its side, however. Strong castle walls could keep out the horde, but she needed to stall to find a solution for the dragons.

When Daenerys arrived on dragonback, Cersei sniped at her to show that she was not intimidated. She was close to discourteous until the representatives from the North revealed the true reason for the meeting. As the unspeakable creature rushed at Cersei, she felt a moment of clarity.

She called for a break to compose herself. Both her brothers came to speak to her, but she barely heard anything they had to say. She could think only of the monster from beyond the Wall. There was no intelligence in its eyes. It could not be bribed or intimidated. Such creatures would keep killing until nothing was left alive between the seas. They were a legitimate threat to her kingdom and her future. On returning to the meeting, Cersei surprised everyone (perhaps even herself) by agreeing to a truce with Daenerys and committing the Crown armies to the struggle in the North.

She’d not hesitated a moment, Cersei realized belatedly, to have a private audience with the Imp. It would have been the perfect time for him to assassinate her, but the thought had never crossed her mind. She would never forgive him for what he’d done to their family, but she no longer had cause to fear him. She would now look to the future and let the past be the past.

That evening, Jaime came to her, brimming with pure love and a passion that could not be contained. They made love, and Jaime stayed with her all night, holding her and whispering to her how proud he was to be her champion. She couldn’t remember ever being so happy and at peace.

Jaime spent the next several days on the logistics of moving the army north. They’d either have to march through deep winter snow or travel by ship through treacherous ice fields. Neither was appealing, but it had to be done. Jaime would lead the army, of course, but Cersei had every confidence that he would come back to her. They would leave the world together as they’d come into it. Anything else was unthinkable.

Cersei awoke alone on the morning the army was to depart. Jaime would have been up for hours, making final preparations. As she swung her legs out of bed to begin her day, she felt a sharp cramp in her midsection. Frightened but not yet panicked, she rubbed at the tightness. Then she noticed the blood on her thighs. Moving back, she could see that it had already soaked through her smallclothes and gown, into the sheets and through to the mattress. Clots and a gush of blood came out of her as she stood. It was too much, far too much and far too early. She felt faint and kept herself conscious by sheer determination.

An urgent summons to Qyburn confirmed that the babe was lost. Cersei felt her spirit freeze and shatter within her chest. Nothing mattered anymore. Not the Northern monsters, not the Dragon Queen, not winter. Nothing.

Jaime did not take well to the change in plans. Cersei couldn’t yet bring herself to tell him that the babe was gone. She needed him to prove his loyalty to her, not just to their family. He disappointed her, saying that he’d keep his word even without an army behind him. Beautiful golden fool; she let him go.

Word from the North was sparse, but eventually the news filtered down that the war against the Others was won and the Dragon Queen marched for King’s Landing again. The respite had bought Cersei time to devise some specially designed defenses. Euron’s fleet and the parapets of King’s Landing now bristled with powerful ballistae. Qyburn said that they would penetrate dragon hide. He’d tested them on the dragon bones in the cellars and proclaimed them effective.

Euron’s surprise attack succeeded brilliantly, preventing Daenerys from being able to assault the city by sea. All his shots missed the dragons, but they’d put enough fear into the Targaryen that she banked away from that approach. She shifted to supporting her ground forces by air and, while effective, was no urgent threat to the city.

Gradually, however, the trajectory of the battle became clear. Wild Dothraki harried the army while the meticulously disciplined Unsullied made steady progress through the gates. As Cersei watched it unfold from her tower window, various officers begged her to surrender. She did not even acknowledge them with a glare. In her mind, the loss of her baby and her future was inextricably tied to the Targaryen girl. She would not give up her city to her as well.

Harry Strickland, commander of the Golden Company, was desperate. The battle was lost but the queen would not see reason. As a mercenary, his loyalty could be bought, but no one could pay him to commit suicide. If she would not act, he would take it into his own hands. He ordered his men to ring the bells of the city to signal surrender as was the custom in Essos. He was unsure if Westeros followed the same traditions, but Daenerys fought in Essos, so she would surely understand and relent.

Daenerys heard the city bells and let out a yelp of satisfaction. Much of the city gates were already ablaze and she’d been worried that she’d have to send the dragons into the city proper to inspire Queen Cersei to stand down. She flew Drogon over the gates with Rhaegal beside them. They swept low to inspire awe in her newly won people.

Cersei could not believe her luck. Daenerys had entered the city before fully quelling it. Stirring herself from her torpor, she ordered the dragons shot down.

Sheer luck saved Drogon as he caught a whiff of something tasty and flew faster than he’d been moving before. Rhaegal was not so fortune. The green dragon was skewered by several ballista bolts and fell to the ground, obviously dying. A few late bolts came near Drogon, but now adequately warned, he and Daenerys dodged them easily.

The wave of pain and rage hit Daenerys all at once. She had some empathetic link with Drogon but could honestly not say whose emotions were whose in the moment. They made no conscious choice about flaming the ballistae as they reloaded. One moment men were frantically handling the huge scorpion bolts, the next they were melting, flesh and metal alike. She meant to stop when her vengeance was complete. She meant to, but the duplicity and betrayal of these people keep renewing her flames. To signal surrender and then attack her child… by ambush… like cowards. The Khaleesi in her awoke and took over. By the time she was a queen again, the city was in ruins.

Cersei thought that nothing could cause her to leave her window, but she was wrong. Jaime had come back for her. He’d proven loyal at last. She hadn’t lost everything. The prophecy was wrong in that tiny respect at least. He pulled her into a tight embrace and said he’d show her an escape. Cersei sobbed with gratitude in his strong arms. He put his hands on her shoulders and said he had a secret.

_Hands?_

“The Starks send their regards,” he said, and the hands tightened around her throat. She stared into his eyes as she died. The cat green had never seemed so grey. He was her younger brother as well, but she never imagined he could hurt her.

Her list complete, Arya removed Jaime’s face. Though it went against her traditions, she left the face with the dead queen. They seemed to below together somehow, even though the real Jaime Lannister had been gone for months. He’d proven himself loyal in the end, dying to protect the queen from the White Walkers. Sansa and the other innocents remained safe, though Ser Brienne would rather it have been her. His sacrifice would live forever in songs as a wonderful story of redemption.

**Author's Note:**

> I figure the rest with Dany’s end and Jon’s banishment pretty much plays out the same way, though I’d leave the Night’s Watch out of it. He and Ghost and Tormund frolic in the snow. Fine.
> 
> As for the Queen in the North, I think Sansa ended up in the right place. The Northern lords will be in for a real wake-up call, dealing with a Cersei/Littlefinger trained Sansa. She didn’t even have Ned’s lessons in leadership to smooth out her edges because he didn’t consider her a potential heir. See, even good ol’ Ned wasn’t perfect.
> 
> Why (or even if) Queen Yara rejoined the Kingdoms is unclear. Maybe she and the new Dornish prince got drunk and had a nice little orgy with Robin Arryn (that kid grew up fine) and decided to stay. Your guess is as good as mine.
> 
> Oh, and my take on Bran ending up on the Iron Throne isn’t that it’s an inspiring tale of overcoming hardship. Rather, I see it as the mind-washed servant of the Children of the Forest (who think humanity is due for a culling) now being in control of a continent’s worth of armies. Now _that’s_ a bittersweet ending.


End file.
